The City-States of Sorquos

Adventure Ideas 1

30

NOV/10

The Search for the Dwarven Engineer
Brunon Hardaxe is a famous mining engineer who has gone missing in the Haemos Hills while prospecting with a band of other dwarves. Friends and colleagues from Ironport have asked the PCs to look for him.
His band was caught up in an ambush by goblins who launched a landslide onto the path they were m entravelling. Some dwarves were killed, others managed to escape to the village of Grundar’s Rest – Brunon was knocked down the hillside. The next day, the survivors plus reinforcements returned to the ambush site – although they found some dead dwarves, Brunon Hardaxe was missing.
Brunon was going to be the main course in a goblin banquet, but the tribal shaman realised Brunon’s value, and he has been sold on (alive) to a cult of Aristus-worshipping Vanae who have developed a secret lair under the Haemos Hills. They need the engineer because of structural problems with their lair which has suffered several cave-ins and want him to help build a better evil hideout.
Things to develop:

Village of Grundar’s Rest as resting place

Random encounters in the Haemos Hills

Clues leading from ambush site to goblin lair

Goblin Lair as dungeon

Clues leading from goblin lair to Vanae cultist hideout

Vanae cult hideout as dungeon

Risky Trading
A merchant from Ironport wants to try trading with the human and elven barbaric tribes of Estaar, and he asks for the PCs to come along as protection.
The merchant is a human, Gervold the Slick. He has hired a small ship, the Santario, with captain and crew, and stocked up on cloth, wines, steel weapons and armour.
The landing place is on the shore of the stretch of woodland due north of Northtipp. The area is populated by a number of different races and tribes.
The humans are fractious and unpredictable – some will want to trade, others will want to avoid while others will want to plunder.
The elves are untrusting and will keep a safe distance – however, they are involved in an ongoing war against the orcs, and anyone who fights the orcs while staying peaceful towards the elves might be trusted enough to trade with.
The orcs are violent raiders who will seek to rob and kill any traders. It is unlikely they will compromise or try to trade.
The bugbears are selfish, and will try to rob the traders if they think they can get away with it. However, they have been worn down by skirmishes with the other races, especially the orcs. They will trade hides and furs they have collected in return for steel weapons for use against the orcs. Of course, there is no guarantee that they will only use their new weapons on the orcs.
Things to develop: